General News
6 December, 2024
Mill House receives grant
Mill House has been delivered a tasty treat from the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) in the form of a $10,000 grant to support their food activities.
The funding comes from FRRR’s Strengthening Rural Communities grant program, which recently rewarded over $1 million to 103 community groups across Australia to improve the liveability of remote and regional towns.
Consistent capital assistance ensures the community group can continue to provide their various food services to residents, according to Mill House manager Michelle Baker.
“FRRR do grant funding for regional communities and we were lucky enough to get $10,000 from them about 18 months ago to double our Friday Feast service and run it every week,” she said.
“This particular grant will help us fund a little bit towards the cafe, a little bit towards our Thursday market and a little bit towards Friday Feast.
“We couldn’t continue to deliver without some grant money coming in because it was just going to run out, with this funding we think we can run Friday Feast for another 12 months now.”
The neighbourhood house has gone through a slight shift since it fully reopened after COVID, facilitating more food-based activities.
Ms Baker said the community’s ever-changing social tendencies motivated Mill House to adapt its approach in supplying a socially inclusive environment for residents.
“When COVID lockdowns were over, we noticed people weren’t coming into the house anymore — we would be lucky to get three people to our classes,” she said.
“What we did notice though is people were starting to have some new behaviours and wanted to have coffee and cake so we started doing more of that.
“Three years later this is what we have evolved into, it’s very food-based, addresses social isolation, encourages people to make new friends and helps them feel more connected to the community.
“The cafe every Tuesday morning is predominately a social experience, we have got quite a few people who come in every week to meet their friends.”
The ability to adjust for the benefit of residents, Ms Baker believes, is vital in providing a strong social service for the community.
“Neighbourhood houses have to be constantly assessing the viability of what they are offering to respond to the community that is presenting,” she said.
“That is what neighbourhood houses are for, to provide those opportunities and each neighbourhood house looks a little bit different.”